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Exotic Birds Escape Dallas Zoo

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – With the freedom of open air and strong winds behind them, two exotic birds flew the coop Friday at the Dallas Zoo.

The pair of blue-throated macaws “took a wrong turn” during the Zoo’s SOAR: A Festival of Flight event, which lets the animals freely fly over the audience.

“In 35 years of producing free-flight bird shows, we’ve never lost a bird,” said Steve Martin, president of Natural Encounters Inc., which produces the show. “It is likely that the birds will show up yelling at the top of their lungs in a tree near a home.”

The SOAR event had been open less than a month when the birds flew away. A supervisor with Natural Encounters blamed the escape on strong winds, which “blew them off course.”

“We encourage the birds to fly over the tree tops and around the zoo before returning to the Wildlife Amphitheater,” said supervisor Lindsey Morse.

Natural Encounters Inc. has issued a reward for information on their whereabouts. Call the zoo at 863.605.3309 if you can help.

The blue-throated macaws are found in Bolivia. Experts estimate between 100 and 150 are still alive.

“As the sun begins to set, they will start looking for home and vocalizing for their familiar trainers, who raised them as babies,” Martin said.

Look for these two INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE birds on eBay or Craigslist, assuming they’re ever found. My bet is they’ll die, since they probably have lost the ability to find food by themselves in the wild.

You people have’nt a clue about the behavior or instincts of macaws. They can do very well for themselves, thank you, and will most likely try to find their way home, or at least to some safe shelter. They can be a pain in the butt to care for…I’ve got six of ’em.

Hopefully they are back Home by now. There are far more than 150 left in the wild. I don’t know what “expert” is pushing that number around but he probably is looking for a drama role in a next Animal Planet episode!